Ahmadinejad Again Questions Holocaust; Wiesenthal Center Reiterates Call To Bar Iranian Leader From World Cup In Germany

May 28, 2006

Ahmadinejad Again Questions Holocaust; Wiesenthal Center Reiterates Call To Bar Iranian Leader From World Cup In Germany

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has reiterated its call to Germany to bar Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from attending this summer’s World Cup following his interview in the German magazine Der Spiegel where he stood by his earlier remarks questioning the veracity of the Holocaust.  “I only accept something as the truth if I am truly convinced of it,” he said, adding that Germans were “held hostage” by the Holocaust.   “Why should you feel obligated to the Zionists? You've paid reparations for 60 years and will have to pay for another 100 years.” 

In response, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Wiesenthal Center, said, “While the Pope is in Auschwitz remembering the horrors of the Holocaust, the President of Iran again questions the Holocaust. “I know this is difficult for the Germans, they have economic relations to think of,” continued Rabbi Hier, “but it is unfair for the victims of the Holocaust and their families to pay the bill once again.” 

“Whether they say it publicly or privately, they should tell Ahmadinejad that he is unwelcome to attend the World Cup and that his presence there would be an affront to the millions of Jews and non-Jews who perished in the Holocaust,” Hier concluded.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS and the Council of Europe.

For more information, please contact the Center's Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036.